My 1994 Ford Escort aka The Trusty Escort

[87gtVIC]

Good to hear. I have 200,000 miles to go to catch up to you lol. It is one great A to B car for sure.

[packman]

That's all you can ask of that car. All you need to do is keep the maintenance up on the car, clean and shine it when it gets dirty, and not abuse the car (nuetral bombs, offroading, etc....). Whatever it takes to keep your project(s) off of the road. And yes, a clean engine compartment makes a difference with the mechanics. They seem to treat cars/trucks better if the engine compartment is clean. I'm still a little skittish about spraying Purple Power on my EFI lopo. I may man-up and do it when I clean the front suspension for the overhaul.


Packman

[gabegt90]

I have personally ridden in this car it moves really good it's just like my geo a good point a to b car

[87gtVIC]

Thanks Gabe.

Little update:

Here is the result of a three week project. Pulled a minty fresh valve cover from Harrys in Hazelton PA earlier in the year. Solevant cleaned it and then scuffed the entire thing down with a green scotch bright. Applied rustoleum engine primer then engine aluminum paint after cleaning the piece with wax and tar remover. Let that dry a week and masked off the raised portion of the rocker cover. Scuffed that area with a gray scotch bright, blew it off cleaned with wax and tar remover then applied low gloss black engine paint. Let that dry a week then blocked out the raised portions with 400, 600, the 1000 grit. It came out nice!



I painted the three valve cover bolts matching low gloss black and had purchased a felpro gasket to complete the install. Fairly cold lately so I am not sure when I will get to actually install it.

[1990LTD]

I wish I had the patience you did.

[packman]

Escorts make good car audio vehicles. My friend had an '80's Escort back in the day (mid 1990's) and he had a fairly stout system. I believe it was a Blaupunkt head unit with a Profile amp powering two Pyramid Super Blue 10" woofers. Loud az hell compared to my system that had 4x's the power in my old Malibu. In retrospect, I shoulda found something like an Escort to use as a DD. It woulda worked out better.



Packman

[1987cp]

I don't remember seeing this thread before! Looks like you're having a lot of fun with a vehicle a lot of people would hate. Neat to see one of the relatively elusive Escort sedans, too.

Trouble is, now I want an Escort ....

[sly]

heh.. escorts can be fun little grocery getters... 5 speed versions have more get up and go since you can power band it yourself. autos have no gut til about 15mph without some bolt-ons (and yes... they do make some bolt-ons for the 1.9L... you don't have to get a 1.8L DOHC GT to get nice bolt-ons).

+1 on hatches and kickin audio. Even stock replacement speakers can make a WORLD of difference in them. a pair of 8's or 10's in the rear will really shake the place though. gotta go 4 tens to get that much out of a panther sedan (wagons FTW here). I've seen some folks fab the speakers into the side areas behind the wheel wells so they don't loose much cargo space as well.

[87gtVIC]

Thanks guys.

Here are some updated shots of her.


Washed, clayed, compounded, polished and waxed:









New valve cover installed:

[Leafsrule16]

Should find a set of nice wheels for it and tint the back windows.

[SteveG1988]

Hey, i may be new here but i grew up around escorts. If you plan to keep this car, replace the head with a fixed one. all escorts will drop valve seats eventually. you can get a brand new head for 300 bucks off ebay with the problem fixed. Also if you want nicer wheels, i would reccomend going with the 15" rims off a ZX2. Nice car either way.

[packman]

Where's the stickers (ya know, Greddy etc...), the rear spoiler, ground effects,5" exhaust tip(s)..........c'mon mang!:smirk:




Packman

[87gtVIC]

Thanks guys

Tint is something I have thought about and wheels are something I am really looking for as I could use new tires...get everything done in one shot.

This car has 56XXX miles on it. I would hope I have some time before the valve seats drop (I have heard that is a common issue), and if not thankyou for the recommendation.

Jacob. NO! lol

[miamibob]

I'm with "Super Dave" on this one - would HATE to see that vehicle "hoociefied"!!! Bobby

[packman]

Not even some spinner hubcaps from Wal-Mart?



Packman